Manufacturers and retailers have promotions which promise a mail-in cash rebate by sending in proofs of purchase from one or a combination of their products. Firms which handle these promotions must mail checks payable to the purchaser for the amount of the mail-in cash rebate.
The firms handling these promotions want to (1) minimize costs of mailing a rebate check to a purchaser; (2) improve the deliverability of the mail; (3) increase the efficiency of the mailing; (4) insure that the check will be processed by the banks, including clearinghouses like the one at the Federal Reserve Bank; and (5) ensure that only the original check is cashed.
Because these rebate checks are mailed via the United States Postal Service ("Postal Service"), the firms must follow certain requirements imposed by the Postal Service to reduce the cost of mailing, improve the deliverability of the mail, and increase the efficiency of the mailing. The Postal Service uses a postal bar code which enables the Postal Service to automatically process mail, including postcard checks. Mail, having the postal bar code in the appropriate position, can be automatically processed. Therefore, firms which place the postal bar code in the correct location on the piece of mail will reduce the cost of mailing, increase the deliverability of the mail, and improve the efficiency of the mailing. Also, all other requirements concerning the information that must be contained in the postal bar code must be met, such as the postal bar code must contain the ZIP+4 form of the ZIP code.
For a check to be automatically processed by a bank and a clearinghouse like the Federal Reserve Bank, the check must contain a magnetic ink character recognition ("MICR") number. This MICR number includes data as to the routing number, the account number, and the dollar amount. These fields allow the check to be sorted using the Federal Reserve Bank's high speed sorting equipment and/or a bank's high speed sorting system. When a purchaser, who has received a check, deposits the check into his account at his bank, the bank sends that check to the Federal Reserve Bank's clearinghouse. The clearinghouse sorts the checks and sends the checks to the payor's bank. If a MICR number is either mutilated, nonexistent, and/or cannot be read by the automated system at the federal clearinghouse, the check will not be processed by the automated system. The check must either be manually read and entered into the system, or the check must be sent back to the payor's bank to have the MICR number rewritten so that the check can be processed. In either scenario, there is a delay in processing the check. The payee, the purchaser's bank, and the payor's bank want to avoid such a delay. Consequently, the MICR number must be positioned such that the check can be processed by the automated sorting system.
One form of a postcard check previously used by the assignee of the present application, Young America Corporation, contained all of the following information on one side: (1) the logo information; (2) the return address; (3) the postage indicia; (4) the bank information; (5) the check information; (6) the recipient of the check's name and address; (7) the postal bar code information; (8) the signature; and (9) the MICR number. The problem with this postcard check is that the Postal Service would paste a bar code sticker over the MICR number when processing the postcard check, thereby preventing the banks from processing the check by its automated system.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,264,795 to Hill discloses a combination postal card and check. This patent describes a card with a postal card form printed on one side and a check form printed on the other side. Also, on the postal card side, there is a space for endorsement by the payee. However, the postal card does not disclose a location for a postal bar code or a location for a MICR number.
U.S. Pat. No. 914,460 to Selden discloses a postal card with a check form on one side and a space for the stamp and address on the other side. The space for the endorsement of the check is on the same side as the check form. Also, the patent discloses a detachable stub attached to the postal card.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,085,470 to Peach discloses a postcard check comprising a tear away strip and a remainder. The postal bar code is printed on the tear away strip. The banking and checking account information is printed on the remainder.
There are two problems with the postcard check disclosed in Peach: (1) the payee is inconvenienced; and (2) the purchaser, while tearing the postal bar code strip, may tear a portion of the check containing the MICR number. First, having to tear away the postal bar code is an inconvenience to the payee. The payee must upon receipt of the postal card check of the Peach patent tear away the postal bar code before cashing the check at a bank. This additional step is an inconvenience to the payee.
Also, the payee may tear the check while tearing away the postal bar code strip. If the person tears the check such that the MICR number is torn or mutilated, then the check cannot be processed via the automated system of a clearinghouse like the clearinghouse at the Federal Reserve Bank.
Clearly, there is a need for a postcard check which has both a postal bar code and a MICR number placed such that both the postal and banking regulations are met, thereby facilitating automatic processing of both the postcard check at both the post office and the bank.
A problem faced by the firms which handle these promotions is to ensure security of the checks being mailed to customers. A common method for fraud is to copy a rebate check using a color copier so that the copied check is identical to the original check. Clearly, there is a need for a rebate check that prevents such fraud.